Professional Documents
Culture Documents
IN ISLAM
By Jamal A. Badawi
CONTENTS
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES
WOMEN IN ISLAM
1. The Spiritual Aspect
2. The Social Aspect
(a) As a Child and Adolescent
(b) As a Wife
(c) As a Mother
3. The Economic Aspect
4. The political Aspect
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
PREFACE
Dr. Jamal Badawi's essay, The Status of Women in Islam, was originally
published in our quarterly journal, Al-lttihad, Vol. 8, No. 2, Sha'ban
1391/Sept 1971. Since then it has been one of our most-demanded
publications. We thank Br. Jamal for permitting us to reprint his essay. We
hope it will clarify many of the misconceptions.
Anis Ahmad,
Director Dept. of Education and Training
MSA of U.S. and Canada
P.O. Box 38 Plainfield, IN 46168 USA
The status of women in society is neither a new issue nor is it a fully settled
one.
The position of Islam on this issue has been among the subjects presented to
the Western reader with the least objectivity.
The Qur'an and the Hadeeth, properly and unbiasedly understood, provide
the basic source of authentication for any position or view which is
attributed to Islam.
The paper starts with a brief survey of the status of women in the pre-
Islamic era. It then focuses on these major questions:
In Athens, women were not better off than either the Indian or the Roman
women.
Her consent in marriage was not generally thought to be necessary and "she
was obliged to submit to the wishes of her parents, and receive from them
her husband and her lord, even though he were stranger to her."5
Only by the late nineteenth Century did the situation start to improve. "By
a series of acts starting with the Married women's Property Act in 1870,
amended in 1882 and 1887, married women achieved the right to own
property and to enter contracts on a par with spinsters, widows, and
6 Ibid., p. 550.
7 The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., 1911, op.cit., Vol. 28, P.782.
8 Ibid., p.783.
9 Encyclopedia American international (edition), Vol. 29, p. 108.
divorcees."10 As late as the Nineteenth Century an authority in ancient
law, Sir Henry Maine, wrote: "No society which preserves any tincture of
Christian institutions is likely to restore to married women the personal
liberty conferred on them by the Middle Roman Law."11
The position of the Christian Church until recent centuries seems to have
been influenced by both the Mosaic Law and by the streams of thought that
Let no one suppose, either, that our Christian heritage is free of such
slighting judgments. It would be hard to find anywhere a collection
of more degrading references to the female sex than the early
Church Fathers provide. Lecky, the famous historian, speaks of
(these fierce incentives which form so conspicuous and so grotesque
a portion of the writing of the Fathers . . . woman was represented
as the door of hell, as the mother of all human ills. She should be
ashamed at the very thought that she is a woman. She should live in
continual penance on account of the curses she has brought upon the
world. She should be ashamed of her dress, for it is the memorial of
her fall. She should be especially ashamed of her beauty, for it is the
most potent instrument of the devil). One of the most scathing of
these attacks on woman is that of Tertullian: Do you know that you
are each an Eve? The sentence of God on this sex of yours lives in
this age: the guilt must of necessity live too. You are the devil's
gateway: you are the unsealer of that forbidden tree; you are the
first deserters of the divine law; you are she who persuades him
whom the devil was not valiant enough to attack. You destroyed so
easily God's image, man. On account of your desert - that is death -
even the Sop of God had to die). Not only did the church affirm the
inferior status of woman, it deprived her of legal rights she had
previously enjoyed.
In the midst of the darkness that engulfed the world, the divine revelation
echoed in the wide desert of Arabia with a fresh, noble, and universal
message to humanity: "O Mankind, keep your duty to your Lord who
created you from a single soul and from it created its mate (of same kind)
and from them twain has spread a multitude of men and women" (Qur'an
4: 1).18
A scholar who pondered about this verse states: "It is believed that there is
no text, old or new, that deals with the humanity of the woman from all
aspects with such amazing brevity, eloquence, depth, and originality as this
divine decree."19
He (God) it is who did create you from a single soul and therefrom
did create his mate, that he might dwell with her (in love)...(Qur'an
7:189)
The Creator of heavens and earth: He has made for you pairs from
among yourselves ...Qur'an 42:1 1
And Allah has given you mates of your own nature, and has given
you from your mates, children and grandchildren, and has made
provision of good things for you. Is it then in vanity that they believe
and in the grace of God that they disbelieve? Qur'an 16:72
The rest of this paper outlines the position of Islam regarding the status of
woman in society from its various aspects - spiritually, socially,
economically and politically.
18 "From it" here refers to the kind, i.e. "from the same kind, or of like nature,
God created its mate." There is no trace in the Qur'an to a parallel of Biblical
concept that Eve was created from one of Adam's ribs." See Yousuf Ali, The
Holy Qur'an, note No. 504.
19 El-Kouly, Al-Bahiy, "Min Uses Kadiyat Almar'ah," Al-Waa'y Al-Islami,
Ministry of Wakf, Kuwait, Vol. 3, No. 27, June 9, 1967, p. 17. translated by the
writer.
1. The Spiritual Aspect
"Every soul will be (held) in pledge for its deeds" (Qur'an 74:38). It
also states:
...So their Lord accepted their prayers, (saying): I will not suffer to
be lost the work of any of you whether male or female. You proceed
one from another ...(Qur'an 3: 195).
Woman according to the Qur'an is not blamed for Adam's first mistake.
Both were jointly wrong in their disobedience to God, both repented, and
both were forgiven. (Qur'an 2:36, 7:20 - 24). In one verse in fact (20:121),
Adam specifically, was blamed.
This is clearly a tender touch of the Islamic teachings for they are
considerate of the fact that a woman may be nursing her baby or caring for
him, and thus may be unable to go out to the mosque at the time of the
prayers. They also take into account the physiological and psychological
changes associated with her natural female functions.
2. The Social Aspect
Criticizing the attitudes of such parents who reject their female children,
the Qur'an states:
Far from saving the girl's life so that she may later suffer injustice and
inequality, Islam requires kind and just treatment for her. Among the
sayings of Prophet Muhammad (P.) in this regard are the following:
Whosoever has a daughter and he does not bury her alive, does not
insult her, and does not favor his son over her, God will enter him
into Paradise. (Ibn Hanbal, No. 1957).
A similar Hadeeth deals in like manner with one who supports two sisters.
(Ibn-Hanbal, No. 2104).
The right of females to seek knowledge is not different from that of males.
Prophet Muhammad (P.) said:
20 Some less authentic versions add "male and female." The meaning,
however, is sound etymologically even as it is consistent with the over-all
b) As a wife:
The Qur'an clearly indicates that marriage is sharing between the two
halves of the society, and that its objectives, beside perpetuating human life,
are emotional well-being and spiritual harmony. Its bases are love and
mercy.
Among the most impressive verses in the Qur'an about marriage is the
following.
"And among His signs is this: That He created mates for you from
yourselves that you may find rest, peace of mind in them, and He
ordained between you love and mercy. Lo, herein indeed are signs
for people who
reflect." (Qur'an 30:2 1).
Ibn Abbas reported that a girl came to the Messenger of God, Muhammad
(P.), and she reported that her father had forced her to marry without her
consent. The Messenger of God gave her the choice . . . (between
accepting the marriage or invalidating it). (Ibn Hanbal No. 2469). In
another version, the girl said: "Actually I accept this marriage but I wanted
to let women know that parents have no right (to force a husband on
them)" (Ibn Maja, No. 1873).
Besides all other provisions for her protection at the time of marriage, it
was specifically decreed that woman has the full right to her Mahr, a
marriage gift, which is presented to her by her husband and is included in
the nuptial contract, and that such ownership does not transfer to her father
or husband. The concept of Mahr in Islam is neither an actual or symbolic
price for the woman, as was the case in certain cultures, but rather it is a
gift symbolizing love and affection.
The rules for married life in Islam are clear and in harmony with upright
human nature. In consideration of the physiological and psychological
make-up of man and woman, both have equal rights and claims on one
another, except for one responsibility, that of leadership. This is a matter
"And they (women) have rights similar to those (of men) over them,
and men are a degree above them." (Qur'an 2:228).
"...If they (husband wife) desire to wean the child by mutual consent
and (after) consultation, there is no blame on them..." (Qur'an 2:
233).
Over and above her basic rights as a wife comes the right which is
emphasized by the Qur'an and is strongly recommended by the Prophet
(P); kind treatment and companionship.
"...But consort with them in kindness, for if you hate them it may
happen that you hate a thing wherein God has placed much good."
(Qur'an 4: l9).
The best of you is the best to his family and I am the best among you
to my family.
The most perfect believers are the best in conduct and best of you
are those who are best to their wives. (Ibn-Hanbal, No. 7396)
When you divorce women, and they reach their prescribed term,
then retain them in kindness and retain them not for injury so that
you transgress (the limits). (Qur'an 2:231). (See also Qur'an 2:229
and 33:49).
c) As a mother:
Moreover, the Qur'an has a special recommendation for the good treatment
of mothers:
"It is the generous (in character) who is good to women, and it is the
wicked who insults them."
Islam decreed a right of which woman was deprived both before Islam and
after it (even as late as this century)22 , the right of independent ownership.
According to Islamic Law, woman's right to her money, real estate, or
other properties is fully acknowledged. This right undergoes no change
whether she is single or married. She retains her full rights to buy, sell,
mortgage or lease any or all her properties. It is nowhere suggested in the
Law that a woman is a minor simply because she is a female. It is also
noteworthy that such right applies to her properties before marriage as
well as to whatever she acquires thereafter.
22 For example, it was not until 1938 that the French Law was amended so as to
recognize the eligibility of women to contract. A married women, however,
was still required to secure her husband's permission before she could
dispense with her private property. See for example Al-Sibaa'i, op.cit., pp. 31-
37.
However, there is no decree in Islam which forbids woman from seeking
employment whenever there is a necessity for it, especially in positions
which fit her nature and in which society needs her most. Examples of
these professions are nursing, teaching (especially for children), and
medicine. Moreover, there is no restriction on benefiting from woman's
exceptional talent in any field. Even for the position of a judge, where
there may be a tendency to doubt the woman's fitness for the post due to
her more emotional nature, we find early Muslim scholars such as Abu-
Hanifa and Al-Tabary holding there is nothing wrong with it. In addition,
Islam restored to woman the right of inheritance, after she herself was an
object of inheritance in some cultures. Her share is completely hers and no
one can make any claim on it, including her father and her husband.
"Unto men (of the family) belongs a share of that which Parents and
near kindred leave, and unto women a share of that which parents
and near kindred leave, whether it be a little or much - a determinate
share." ((Qur'an 4:7).
Her share in most cases is one-half the man's share, with no implication
that she is worth half a man! It would seem grossly inconsistent after the
overwhelming evidence of woman's equitable treatment in Islam, which
was discussed in the preceding pages, to make such an inference. This
variation in inheritance rights is only consistent with the variations in
financial responsibilities of man and woman according to the Islamic Law.
Man in Islam is fully responsible for the maintenance of his wife, his
children, and in some cases of his needy relatives, especially the females.
This responsibility is neither waived nor reduced because of his wife's
wealth or because of her access to any personal income gained from work,
rent, profit, or any other legal means.
Woman, on the other hand, is far more secure financially and is far less
burdened with any claims on her possessions. Her possessions before
marriage do not transfer to her husband and she even keeps her maiden
name. She has no obligation to spend on her family out of such properties
or out of her income after marriage. She is entitled to the "Mahr" which
she takes from her husband at the time of marriage. If she is divorced, she
may get an alimony from her ex-husband.
An examination of the inheritance law within the overall framework of the
Islamic Law reveals not only justice but also an abundance of compassion
for woman.23
Any fair investigation of the teachings of Islam into the history of the
Islamic civilization will surely find a clear evidence of woman's equality
with man in what we call today "political rights".
During the Caliphate of Omar Ibn al-Khattab, a woman argued with him in
the mosque, proved her point, and caused him to declare in the presence of
people: "A woman is right and Omar is wrong."
23 For a good discussion of this point, also for the acceptance of women's
witness according to Islamic Law, see Abd al-Ati, Hammudah, Islam in Focus,
pp. 117-118 and Al-Sibaa'i, Mustafa, Al-Marah Baynal Fiqh WalQanoon (in
Arabic) pp. 31-37.
affecting her decision, without considering the excessive strain which is
produced. Moreover, some decisions require a maximum of rationality and
a minimum of emotionality - a requirement which does not coincide with
the instinctive nature of women.
The first part of this paper deals briefly with the position of various
religions and cultures on the issue under investigation. Part of this
exposition extends to cover the general trend as late as the nineteenth
century, nearly 1300 years after the Qur'an set forth the Islamic teachings.
In the second part of the paper, the status of women in Islam is briefly
discussed. Emphasis in this part is placed on the original and authentic
sources of Islam. This represents the standard according to which degree of
adherence of Muslims can be judged. It is also a fact that during the
downward cycle of Islamic Civilization, such teachings were not strictly
adhered to by many people who profess to be Muslims.
Such deviations were unfairly exaggerated by some writers, and the worst
of this, were superficially taken to represent the teachings of "Islam" to the
Western reader without taking the trouble to make any original and
unbiased study of the authentic sources of these teachings.
It is also worthwhile to state that the status which women reached during
the present era was not achieved due to the kindness of men or due to
natural progress. It was rather achieved through a long struggle and
sacrifice on woman's part and only when society needed her contribution
and work, more especial!; during the two world wars, and due to the
escalation of technological change.
In the case of Islam such compassionate and dignified status was decreed,
not because it reflects the environment of the seventh century, nor under
the threat or pressure of women and their organizations, but rather because
of its intrinsic truthfulness.
Al Siba'i, Mustafa, Al-Alar'ah Baynal Fiqh Walqanoon (in Arabic), 2nd. ea., Al-
Maktabah Al-Arabiah, Halab, Syria, 1966.
Hadeeth. Most of the quoted Hadeeth were translated by the writer. They are
quoted in various Arabic sources. Some of them, however, were translated directly
from the original sources. Among the sources checked are Musnad Ahmad Ibn
Hanbal Dar AlMa'aref, Cairo, U.A.R., 1950, and 1955, Vol.4 and
3,SunanIbnMajah, Dar Ihya'a Al-Kutub al-Arabiah, Cairo, U.A.R., 1952, Vol.l,
Sunan al-Tirimidhi, Vol.3.
Mace, David and Vera, Marriage: East and West, Dolphin Books, Doubleday and
Co., Inc., N.Y., 1960.